First timer wanting to be a full timer

Hello everyone,

This is my fist post here.  Ive spent quite a bit of time reading various threads though.

Sometime in the the next 1-2 yrs, my wife and I plan to buy a motorhome and hit the road traveling the country.  Of course plans can change at any time, but our current plan is to travel/live in the motorhome as long as we enjoy it and then sell it.  We are guessing we will be on the road 1-2 years.  We dont own a house so we will have no home base and nothing to worry about back him in Florida other than a small storage unit.

We are outdoors/adventurous people but our only experience with an RV is renting a 31' RV for 2 weeks in Alaska.  Everything went well and we enjoyed it even more than we thought we would.

So on to the questions

1) Size?  Since we will be living in it, Im sure bigger will be better for us.  However, driving something massive while also pulling a car behind it sounds pretty daunting.  I had no issues driving the 31' but going to a 36-40' motorhome and also pulling a car has to be a huge difference doesnt it? 

2) Price isnt a major concern.  We can afford the payments on any realistic motorhome, so monthly cash flow isnt a big deal.  My research has shown that the money we will lose when we sell it isn't drastically different if we spend $90,000 or $175,000.  Am I way off base?

3)  We are thinking about buying a 4-5 year old motorhome.  If we spend $150,000, am I in the ballpark when I assume we can sell it for $135,000ish 1 year later?  Assuming its in similar condition as it was when we bought it.  Im looking at NADA values and comparing values on the same coach a year.

4) How long should I expect it to take to sell it when we are ready to move on?

5) Diesel or gas?  Im sure there are dozens of threads on this already.  From what Ive read so far, I think we would want diesel, but Im worried about the fact that most diesels are very very big, so Im back to concerns about it being to difficult to handle in town or trying to manuever in RV parks and other tight spaces.  Especially pulling a car.

Thanks for any advice you can give,

MikeStarr said:

1) Size?  Since we will be living in it, I'm sure bigger will be better for us.  However, driving something massive while also pulling a car behind it sounds pretty daunting.  I had no issues driving the 31' but going to a 36-40' motorhome and also pulling a car has to be a huge difference doesn't it? 

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Nope, not much difference. You will be living in your RV about 95% of the time and driving it about 5% of the time so in my book it makes sense to maximize for living not driving.

2) Price isn't a major concern.  We can afford the payments on any realistic motorhome, so monthly cash flow isn't a big deal.  My research has shown that the money we will lose when we sell it isn't drastically different if we spend $90,000 or $175,000.  Am I way off base?

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Yes, the more expensive ones will lose more money than the cheaper ones.

3)  We are thinking about buying a 4-5 year old motorhome.  If we spend $150,000, am I in the ballpark when I assume we can sell it for $135,000ish 1 year later?  Assuming its in similar condition as it was when we bought it.  I'm looking at NADA values and comparing values on the same coach a year.

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NADA is fantasy land. After a year you might get $100k. RVs are not an investment. Your best bet is to start with a $20k RV and use it for a year before sinking a lot of money into an RV. Most first timers don't get it right the first time and need to use an RV for a while before they know what they really want.

4) How long should I expect it to take to sell it when we are ready to move on?

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Six month minimum.

5) Diesel or gas?  I'm sure there are dozens of threads on this already.  From what I've read so far, I think we would want diesel, but I'm worried about the fact that most diesels are very very big, so I'm back to concerns about it being to difficult to handle in town or trying to maneuver in RV parks and other tight spaces.  Especially pulling a car.

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My opinion is that gas or diesel is a question of the right tool for the right job. If you are going to be pulling a toad and/or driving in mountains then a diesel is the better choice. For an east coast flatlander then a gasses is a better choice.

I'm only going to comment on one aspect of your post and that is size.  I think you're making too much of a big deal about the difference between 31' and 40'.  Once you get used to driving a large vehicle it should become second nature to make sure you have space before changing lanes, etc.  When I change lanes on the interstate I always use my rear view camera to ensure that my toad is safely in front of the vehicle that I was passing.

Since you have time before you are thinking of doing this, why not consider taking a driving course?  Before going full-time I took a Class B CDL course at a nearby community college.  Sure, I didn't need a CDL to drive my MH, but I'm convinced that the experience made me a far better driver than I would otherwise have been.  In the course I spent 3 weeks driving on city streets in a 36' straight truck (which handled far worse than my MH). In my instructor's opinion "anyone can drive on the interstates; city streets are where you really learn!"  Although IMO driving a large vehicle will always be mentally more demanding than driving a car, after 60,000 miles of driving our MH, i don't find it difficult at all regardless of the situation we find ourselves in. 

Ive read here in other threads that NADA is not a good indicator of the actual value of motor homes, but Ive checked the actual sales prices at PPL and they do appear to normally be between NADAs low retail and avg retail with the actual sales price being closer to low retail.  Ive checked a number of them.

So Im confused why people say NADA is so unreliable.

Also, the actual sales prices at PPL dont show anywhere near the 50% loss on an already 4-5 yr old RV.  How can an already 5 yr old $150,000 RV sell for only $100,000 when its 6 yrs old?  Im not talking about buying brand new.

MikeStarr said:

Hello everyone,

This is my fist post here.  Ive spent quite a bit of time reading various threads though.

Sometime in the the next 1-2 yrs, my wife and I plan to buy a motorhome and hit the road traveling the country.  Of course plans can change at any time, but our current plan is to travel/live in the motorhome as long as we enjoy it and then sell it.  We are guessing we will be on the road 1-2 years.  We dont own a house so we will have no home base and nothing to worry about back him in Florida other than a small storage unit.

We are outdoors/adventurous people but our only experience with an RV is renting a 31' RV for 2 weeks in Alaska.  Everything went well and we enjoyed it even more than we thought we would.

So on to the questions

1) Size?  Since we will be living in it, Im sure bigger will be better for us.  However, driving something massive while also pulling a car behind it sounds pretty daunting.  I had no issues driving the 31' but going to a 36-40' motorhome and also pulling a car has to be a huge difference doesnt it? 

2) Price isnt a major concern.  We can afford the payments on any realistic motorhome, so monthly cash flow isnt a big deal.  My research has shown that the money we will lose when we sell it isn't drastically different if we spend $90,000 or $175,000.  Am I way off base?

3)  We are thinking about buying a 4-5 year old motorhome.  If we spend $150,000, am I in the ballpark when I assume we can sell it for $135,000ish 1 year later?  Assuming its in similar condition as it was when we bought it.  Im looking at NADA values and comparing values on the same coach a year.

4) How long should I expect it to take to sell it when we are ready to move on?

5) Diesel or gas?  Im sure there are dozens of threads on this already.  From what Ive read so far, I think we would want diesel, but Im worried about the fact that most diesels are very very big, so Im back to concerns about it being to difficult to handle in town or trying to manuever in RV parks and other tight spaces.  Especially pulling a car.

Thanks for any advice you can give,

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I would consider buying a small fun RV now and enjoy it on weekends and holidays. This will give you plenty of time to learn what you like and don't like about RV lifestyle.

In the two years waiting time, I would try to amass as much cash as possible and lean towards not financing much at all. I went the cash only route and I had a blast!

Selling a used RV could happen in 48 hours (mine did) or could take a whole year. The cheaper the RV, the faster it will sell as the market is larger.

Diesel is a lot more maintenance money but the diesel rigs are able to haul more weight.

I would try to find a rig around $50,000 and live with that. Later you can trade up or down. The first rig doesn't have to be the last rig.

Whether you buy old or new or in between, you need a hefty repair and maintenance budget laying around. RV's are no fun if things are broken and the longer you let it pile up unfixed, the worse it gets. So I would suggest you consider a far cheaper RV and go out and feel the lifestyle and the maintenance budget before you commit to high end top of the line.

Think about your daily lifestyle and things you need to do. Not all rigs come with washer/dryer space yet most folks would rather travel with less clothes and a washer/dryer installed for convenience.

Some rigs come with fun kitchens and some come with snack kitchens. If you plan to eat at home a lot, then you want to pay attention to the galley.

Some rigs come with multiple sleeping arrangements and others are designed for the comforts of a couple.

You may want one with 4 tv's or you may prefer more windows and less electronics.

In the interim, take up bicycle riding. It helps you get in shape for RVing. It's an active lifestyle. There is a lot of work to hooking up the car, setting up the rig and breaking down again to travel.

A bicycle can eliminate many health problems while improving your overall health. It's also a fun past time.

As far as the accuracy of NADA prices, there are at least two factors; first retail prices are fiction. You can often get 15% off list and 30% isn't unheard of. NADA presumes list price as a starting point and then applies a standard depreciation rate from there.

It is obvious that a one year old mh is unlikely to bring 80% of the original list price and it goes downhill from there. Another factor is maintaince history andnother you must also consider that some mh's are more popular than others.

The value of a used mh is what a party with the means will pay!

Ernie

Whatever NADAs formula is, it appears to be pretty accurate to me.  Im not talking about MSRP. We all know that nobody pays that, for cars or RVs.

But lets look at 3 random RV sales that I pulled from PPLs website.

1)  2017 Fleetwood Bounder 36'...2769 miles
NADAs avg retail price is $126,300
NADAs low retail price is $104,383

The actual sales price on 8/17/18 was $109,350

2) 2017 Allegro Bunkhouse 39'....3131 miles
NADA Avg retail.....$142.248
NADA low retail.....$118,069

Actual sales price on 3/29/18 was $125,000

3) 2013 Tiffin Allegro 36LA....22597 miles
NADA Avg retail....$84851
NADA Low retail....$70406

Actual sale price on 8/7/18 was $79,495

I checked several others as well and every single one of them actually sold for a price between NADAs avg and low retail with most of them selling a little closer to avg retail.  Obviously the price will vary depending on condition, but I dont know how people can say NADA values are worthless when every RV that I checked from PPLs actual sales, sold within the range NADA lists.  That sounds like a pretty reliable range to me.

Howdy Mike,

Storage space is a big deal when full-timing. Depending on a person's hobbies and "needs", it may be a huge deal.  If you are able to downsize to a couple of totes, you don't have much to worry about. Otherwise, a larger rig with maximum basement space may prove valuable.

The buying/selling of used RV's depends on a LOT of factors that are difficult to summarize in a system like NADA's.  Some folks only care about mileage, paint quality, and/or having a one piece windshield. Others care about brand, tire age, type/age of refrigerator, battery bank age/quality, generator hours, component quality (inverter, converter, solar, awnings, AC/Heat pumps), and so forth. All of these things MAY have a big impact on perceived value.  Obviously, the state of the economy when time to sell comes may also be a factor.  If you KNOW you are going to sell in a couple years, I would recommend purchasing a very well respected and desired make/model now. It will be easier to sell later.

Also, length when driving is not really an issue once you become familiar.  In my experience (34' then 40' and now 45' - and pulling a Jeep) there is no doubt that the longer you are the more limited you become. That said, I can still get into some pretty great boondocking sites.  You just have to a bit of pre-planning to avoid getting into a bad situation (and this includes small towns, small campgrounds, etc.). It's all a bunch of compromises so define your goal/mission up front.

I dont know how people can say NADA values are worthless when every RV that I checked from PPLs actual sales, sold within the range NADA lists.  That sounds like a pretty reliable range to me.

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I think the point is that it IS a range. 

The NADA range is a reasonable but rather broad spread, so it's hard to apply to any particular sale offer.  Further, for some very popular (high demand) models it can be well under typical sales prices, especially for older mid-high end models.  Last, NADA relentlessly depreciates year by year, whereas most RVs reach a "floor" where they stop depreciating as long as they remain in usable condition.

So, NADA RV is not worthless, but it's also not anywhere near as accurate as NADA car/truck prices, which are pretty much dead-nuts on target.  A car in average condition will sell for just about exactly what NADA average retail says, but an RV in average condition might fall anywhere in the broad range between Low & Average.

I'll also note that you compared to PPL sale prices, which are actually private (consignment) sales and therefore typically lower than dealer pricing & transactions. Dealer asking prices are often much higher, and so are dealer actual sale prices.

Are you saying that the sales prices listed at PPL are what they paid the seller and not what the buyer paid them?

NADA has stopped adding money for low mileage gas coachs. If you look at entry level and top of the line gas coachs in NADA their prices will be very close. That is NOT realistic. They value a coach with 100,000 miles the same as one with 30,000, that's also not very realistic. I wouldn't consider selling my 37,000 mile coach at what NADA says it's worth ave retail. I'm with a couple others recommending buying one way before you think you're going to go full time in one. You have time to be very picky about finding just what YOU think is the right coach for you. I've owned 5 class A MH and every time I add something I didn't have on the previous coach. Newer isn't always better, but a older high end coach may be a better buy. There is a huge difference in build quality between a entry level and a higher end built coach. I know a fellow that bought a 2016 George Town last year, it only had 3000 miles on it when he got it. I wouldn't trade my old Dolphin even up for it. Do lots of looking and driving before you decide what coach you really want. Don't just go by pictures, look at them in person. Sometimes pictures make them look very good.